And we don’t believe swapping safety for commerce is ever a fair trade.

The U.S. Congress passed a law in June of 2008 requiring all imported catfish and related species be inspected by the USDA before being sold to American consumers. Congress wanted to ensure that catfish would be treated to the same USDA protections for safety as beef and poultry.

While we’re waiting, only 2 percent of the 5.2 billion pounds of imported seafood – including catfish and catfish-like products — is being inspected for U.S. health and safety standards.

Congress did not intend to make Americans wait for health and safety protection. Americans need to be guaranteed that imported catfish and related fish are held to the same tough health and safety standards as imported meat and poultry.